Reading Habits and Their Influence on Academic Achievement Among Students at Asia Pacific International University

Abstract

In this study reading habits have been correlated with academic achievement. Students who
have developed the habits of reading academic and non-academic materials develop their
comprehension of concepts, critical thinking skills, and verbal fluency and ultimately have
better academic outcomes. This quantitative study examined reading habits and their
influence on the academic achievements of students at Asia-Pacific International University,
Mauk Lek, Thailand. A convenience sampling method was utilized to select 250 individuals
who responded to a survey questionnaire, A Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)
was used to analyze the data. A multiple regression and Correlation Matrix analysis checked
the influence of reading habits on academic achievement. Among the five variables, the study
confirmed that the purpose of reading has a significant relationship with academic
performance. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the majority of the respondents value
the importance of reading. However, the respondents had low reading habits. The study
recommends that policymakers in universities should develop plans and for increasing
students‘ reading habits. This includes providing resources to encourage students to take up
reading. In addition, administrators should develop strategies for teachers to create activities
that can promote reading habits, which would, in turn, improve students‘ academic
performance.